Mechanical pressure latch



Sept. 2, 1952 R. G. NYE 2,609,268

MECHANICAL PRESSURE: LATCH Filed Dec. s, 1948 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 2, l1952 MECHANICAL PRESSURE LATCH Robert Glen Nye, San Diego, Calif.

Application December 8, 1948, Serial No. 64,065

(Cl. S12- 320) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) 12 Claims.

This invention relates to operating levers designed to increase the ease with which a movable member such as a cover plate may be placed on and removed from a base member. More partcularly, the invention relates to a radio chassis in the form'of a drawer which is slidable on the base, there being complementary connectors at the rear of the drawer and base respectively, which frictionally engage each other. The instant invention comprehends the provision of a lever at the front of the drawer which will enhance the force needed to engage and disengage the complementary connectors as the drawer is slid into and removed from the base.

In large electronic equipment, it is customary to place the several component units on a number of different chassis which are embodied in drawers slidable on corresponding base members in the frame of the equipment. In order to obviate the requirement of lengthly flexible connectors between each chassis drawer and the frame of the equipment, it is convenient to place complementary connectors or plug members at the rear of the base and the drawer, respectively, which connectors are automatically engaged as the drawer is pushed into position on the base. Such connectors generally comprise a large number of individual plug units, and therefore require a considerable force to engage and disengage.

It is an object of this invention to provide an operating lever at the front of such a chassis drawer which will produce multiplied force to aid in both the engagement and disengagement of the connectors at the rear of the drawer.

It is another object of this invention to provide a handle atthe front of the radio chassis which' will serve the double purpose, in a single movement, of forcefully 'disengaging the connectors at the rear of thedrawer and of allowing the drawing tobeslid from the base.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a drawer with a combined actuating lever or handle and lock member, by means of which the drawer may be positively held on the base until specific manual operating steps are applied to the lever to release it, whereupon it may be used successively as a force multiplying means for disengaging the drawer from the base, and then as a handle for withdrawing the drawer from the base.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following description,

The instant invention is applied tor a base member to which a movable member or cover plate is selectively mounted or removed. In accordance with this invention, an operating lever is mounted on vthe movable member, this rlever consisting of a forked portion at one end and a handle portion at the other end, the mounting being achieved by a pivot pin pivotally mounting the lever to the movable member, and passing through the lever intermediate the forked and handle portions thereof. When applied to an assembly such as a drawer slidable on a base member, the operating lever is pivoted in an aperture in the front panel of the drawerI with the forked portion extending inside the panel, and the handle portion extending outside the panel.

A cross bar is mounted to the base member paralleling the front panel and engageable by the forked portion of the operating lever as the drawer is slid on or off the base member. Preferably the base member is recessed at the front to form a recess adjacent the cover plate orfront panel, which is spanned by the cross bar so that the forked portion of the operating lever enters the recess and engages the cross bar as the lever is pivoted. i

Outward pivoting of the handle portion of the lever causes the forked portion to bear against the cross bar in the base member, thereby initiating removal of the drawer from the base member. This is done with considerable force multiplication due to the difference in lever arms, so that thek connectors which are frictionally engaged at the rear of the base member and drawer, respectively, are easily disengaged. After dis engagement of the connectors, further outward pivoting of vthe lever handle results in the engagement or abutment of a shoulder formed on the forked portion, with a stop member secured to the inner face of the front panel. Further pivoting being thus prevented, the operating lever then becomes a drawer handle which may be used to slide the drawer from the base member.

In order to prevent accidental outward pivoting of the operating lever, a manually operated latch is mounted at the end of the handle portion, which engages a catch or lip formed on the cover plate, so that with the drawer once in place on the base member, it cannot be then removed until the latch is actuated and the operating lever pivoted outwardly on its pivot pin.

A specic embodiment of the invention described generally above will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the invention as applied to a radio drawer chassis; and

Fig; 2 is a sectioned elevation showing somewhat more clearly certain details of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, II designates a base member having a rear wall I2 towhich is mounted an inwardly extending, electrical connector I3. Slidable on the base member II is a drawer I4, particularly suited to contain an electronic chapu sis. At the rear of the drawer I4A is another `elec.- trical connector I6, adapted to frictionally engage the connector I3, and thereby produce the desired continuity of electrical connections be* tween the drawer and the base member. The drawer I4 has a front panel or cover plate I'I which, in the broadest implications of the instant invention, constitutesl a movable member which may be mounted on and removed from the base member II.A An operating lever |13, consisting of a handle portion I9 and a forked portion 2|, is pivotally mounted to the frontpanel Il by means of a pivot pin 2.2. V,This lis achieved preferably by providing an .aperture 23 near the bottom of thefront panel II, and mounting Va U-shaped block 24 on the inside of the panel Il, embracing the aperture. 23. The pivot pin 22 passes through the block 2.4 parallel to the plate II and across the aperture 23, so that the forked portion 2| of the lever I8 extends inside the panel I'I, while the handle `portion extends outside the panel- Engageable bythe lforked portion 2 I of the lever I3 is a cross bar 26 mounted either fixedly or rollably, as desired, on the .base member I I, paralleling the pane1`Il. This mounting is preferably achieved by recessing the base'memberfI I at 21 to form a recess adjacent the aperture 2S and pivot pin 2,2. The cross bar 26 spans the recess 2l, thereby providing operating room for the forked portion 2| as the lever I8 is pivoted. Mountingof the cross pin 2 5 is achieved by se curing another Ushaped block 28 to the bottom surface of the base member II, .ci'rcumjaoent the recess 2l, the bar 26 runningA between the arms of the U 2.8, and thereby spanning the recess 2'I. The bar 2 is preferably generally circular in cross section and secured rotatablyto the sides o f the recess 21, although other suitable cross sece tions may be used as long as suitable. room'is left for entrance and withdrawal of the bifurcations ofthe forked portion 2 I.

In order that the lever uI8 may be used as a regular handle to slide the drawer I4 from the base kII after disengagement of fthe forked portion 2| from the :bar 26, a shoulder 29 isprovided on the forked portion 2|, extending inwardly of the drawer. This shoulder Yengages, or abuts against vthe upper portion o f the U-'block 2e, as shown'in dot-dash, lines in Fig. 2, .which thus constitutes a stop member for the shoulder 29, limiting outward pivoting of the lever I8,'and permitting it to bev used as a handle for withdrawal of the drawer.

In order to insure against accidental outward pivoting of the handle II) lwhen the drawer is in closed position, a latch *3| is pivotally mounted on the extended end ofthe handle portion I9, and a cooperating catch or lipv 32 is provided by perforating the panel I7. In this way, the lever I 8 may not beV pivoted outward until the latch 3| is pressed downward by the thumb of the operator.

Operation The instant invention is used in the following manner. It will be assumed that the drawer I4 is separated from the base II. To mount it on the ybase II, the lever I8 is pivoted out until engagement of shoulder 29 against stop '24. The drawer Id is then slid in on the base II until the forked yportion 2| is about to engage the cross bar 26. At this point, the panel *,II is still a shortl distance out from its seated position, and occupies the attitude shown in dot-dash lines in Fig. 2. Likewise, as shown in dot-dash lines in Fig. 2, the connector I6 is about to frictionally engage connector I 3.

' VA this" point, the lever I8 is pivoted up, or inward, therebyhooking the inner fork or bifurcation of the portion 2| over the bar 26, and drawing the pivot pin 22 and panel I'I steadily in aga-instV` the resisting friction of the plugs I3, and IB. rihis cam or levering action continues with the forked portion 2I sliding down and inwardly to embrace the bar 2 5 until'the latch 3| is snapped into position over the lip 32, at which point the drawer I4 has been fully seated on the base member II, Yand the connectors I3 and I6 are fully engaged. Irithis position the drawer I4 is rmly latched onto the base member II, separation of the twg being prevented yby the interlocking of the forked portion 2| over the bar '25.

Removal of the drawer from the base member can therefore be eifectuated only by releasing the latch 3| and pivoting the operating lever I 8 downward and outward. Upon such pivoting, a converse cam or lever action to that experienced upon closing the drawer is achieved, by virtue of the action Vof the outer fork or bifurcation of 4the portion 2| pushing against the bar 26. Outward pivoting on the lever I3 thus causes the outer fork of the portion 2| to cooperate with the vpin `Z to push theY pivot pin 22 and panel I'I away from the base member I in substantially the same way as the inner fork of the portion 2| pushed the drawer inward when the drawerwas being inserted into the rbase member. Thus the plugs I '3 and IS are disengaged against their frictional resistance by the same type of cam or lever action asIWa'sv employed to engage them.

By the time the lever I8 has beenpivoted out? ward to .the point where the shoulder 29 abuts the U-stop block 24, the inner fork of the'portion 2| has been lifted clear of the bar 26, and the connectors I2 and I6 have been fully disengaged so that the drawer I4 may be easily slid outward on the base member II, using the handle poltion I 9 in conventional fashion as a drawer nu Y It Will be noted that as the drawer is pushed home onto the base member I|,.the mechanical advantage of the operating lever'steadily increases. 'Ilhis is due to the fact that the inner fork of the portion ,ZI steadily slides down the pin 26, therebyV shortening the lower lever arm, represented by the distance between the `bar 2S and the pivot pin 22, while the upper lever arm,

represented eby the handle portion I9, remains constant. In this V'vf/ay the maximum mechanical advantage, represented by the maximum mechanical lever ratio, achieved just exactly where it is desired-namely, when the plugs I 3 and I6 are fully engaged, and when their frictional resistance is therefore greatest.

Likewise, upon disengagement of the plugs I3 and I6, maximum force multiplication is achieved upon the start of disengagement, because then the lever arm distance between the bar 26 and vthe pivot pin 22 is least. As disengagement proincreasing the travel ratio, so that greater travel of the drawer is achieved for a given arc of pivoting of the lever I8. Thatzis to say, the horizontal distance travelled by the drawer I4 in withdrawing from the bas I I is vroughly proportional to the tangent of the pivot angle of the handle I9 as the latter is pivotedout to disengage the drawer. Thus, at the start of disengagement, the drawer travel per degree of handle pivoting is small; steadily increasing as the hanu dle is pivoted, and reaching its maximum just prior to complete disengagement of the drawer from the base.

The instant invention thus produces maximum force multiplication where it is needed-namely, when the drawer is fully seated on the base member I i without sacrificing travel distance advantage at the outer portion of the Span when the plugs I3 and I6 are almost disengaged'and large mechanical force ratio is. not required.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

What is claimed is:

l. In the combination of a base, adrawer slidable on said base and having a front panel, the improvement which comprises an operating lever having a forked portion at one end and a handle portion at the other end, said forked portion extending thru an aperture in said front panel, and into an adjacent recess in said base, a pivot pin between said portions of said lever pivotally mounting said lever to said front panel, a cross bar secured to said base spanning the recess therein parallel to said front panel and adapted to be engaged by said forked portion upon pivoting of said lever, a shoulder extending from said forked portion inside said front panel, a stop member on said front panel adapted to engage said shoulder to limit said lever upon outward pivoting thereof, a latch on the end of said handle portion, and a lip on said front panel adapted to be engaged by said latch upon inward pivoting of said lever.

2. In the combination of a base, a drawer slidable on said base and having a front panel, the improvement which comprises an operating lever having a forked portion at one end and a handle portion at the other end, said forked portion extending thru an aperture in said front panel and into an adjacent recess in said base, a pivot pin between said portions of said lever pivotally mounting said lever to said front panel, a. cross bar secured to said base spanning the recess therein parallel to said front panel and adapted to be engaged by said forked portion upon pivoting of said lever, a latch on the end of said handle portion, and a lip on said front panel adapted to be engaged by said latch upon inward pivoting of said lever.

3. In the combination of a base, a drawer slidable on said base and having a front panel, the improvement which comprises an operating lever having a forked portion at one end and a handleportion atthe other end, said forked portion extending thru an aperture in said front panel and into an adjacent recess in said basey a pivot-.pin between said portions of said lever pivotally mounting said lever to said front panel, and a crossk bar secured to said base spanning the recess therein kparallel to said front panel and adapted to be engaged by said forked portion upon pivoting of said lever.

4. In the combination of a base, a drawer slidable on said base and having a front panel, the improvement which comprises an operating level having a forked portion at one end and a handle portion at `the other end, said forked portion extending thru an aperture in said front panel, a pivot pin between said portions of said lever pivotally mounting said lever to said front panel, and a cross bar secured to said base parallel to said front panel and adapted to be engaged by said forked portion upon pivoting of saidlever.

5. In combination with a recessed base and a movable cover plate therefor, said plate having an opening therethrough adjacent the recess in said base, an operating lever having a handle portion and a forked portion, a pivot pin adjacent said opening and parallel to said plate pivotally mounting said lever to said plate with said handle portion outside said plate and said forked portion extending inside said plate and into said recess, a cross bar mounted to said base spanning said recess parallel to said pin and engageable by said forked portion as said lever is pivoted, a shoulder extending from said forked portion inside said plate, a stop member on said plate engageable by said shoulder to limit outward pivoting of said lever, a latch on the end of said handle portion, and a lip formed on said plate engageable by said latch upon inward pivoting of said lever.

6. In combination with a recessed base and a member slidable thereon comprising a cover plate, said plate having an opening therethrough adjacent the recess in said base, a normally upright operating lever having a handle portion and a forked portion, a pivot pin adjacent said opening and paraallel to said plate pivotally mounting said lever to said plate with said handle portion outside said plate and said forked portion inside said plate, and a stop into said recess, a cross bal mounted to said base spanning said recess parallel to said pin and engageable by said forked portion as said lever is pivoted, a shoulder extending from said forked portion inside said plate, and a stop member on said plate engageable by said shoulder to limit outward pivoting of said lever when said handle portion has moved thru less than from its upright position.

7. In combination with a recessed base and a movable cover plate therefor, said plate having an opening therethrough adjacent the recess in said base, an operating lever having a handle portion and a forked portion, a pivot pin adjacent said opening and parallel to said plate pivotally mounting said lever to said plate with said handle portion outside said plate and said forked portion extending inside said plate and into said recess, a cross bar mounted to said base spanning said recess parallel to said pin and engageable by said forked portion as said lever is pivoted, and a latch on said handle portion engageable with said plate upon inward pivoting movement of said lever.

8. In combination with a movable member and a recessed basermember, anoperating lever comprising a handleportion at one end and a forked portion at the othervend, a pivot `pin intermediate vsaid portions.v pivotally mounting said lever to said ...movable ,memben a cross bar mounted to `said base member spanning the recess therein parallel to the axis of said pin and adapted to be engaged bysaid forked portion as said lever is pivoted, a :latch onthe end of said handle portion, and a catch portion on said movable member adapted to be engaged by said latch. f

9. Cabinet structure comprising a horizontal base and a container slidable thereon and including a vertical cover plate having an `opening adjacent the level of said base, a horizontal cross bar on said base adjacent the level of said opening, a lever pivoted to said cover plate and including a handle normally extending parallel to and spaced outwardly from said cover plate and a fork normally in engagement with said cross bar but disengageable therefrom upon forward pivotal movement of said lever to a predetermined position, and a shoulder on said lever engageable With said cover plate When the lever has moved thruless than 90 from its upright position.

10. Cabinet structure .comprising a base and a container horizontally slidable thereon and including an upright cover plate having an aperture adjacent the level of the base, a lever pivoted to said cover plate `and including a handle normally extending parallel to and spaced outwardly from said cover plate, a cross bar on said base extendingparallel to the pivot of said lever, a fork xed to said lever normally engaging said cross bar to move the container inwardly or outwardly upon limited movement of the lever about its pivot but disengageable therefrom upon a predetermined degree of outward movement of the lever, and means limiting outward movel kment of the lever to a degree exceeding said predetermined movement but less than from normal position. l

11. Cabinet structure comprising a base and a container horizontally slidable thereon and including an apertured upright cover plate, a lever pivoted to said cover plate adjacent the aperture thereof and including a handle normally extending parallel to and spaced outwardly from said cover plate, a cross bar on said base parallel to the pivot of said lever, a forli fixed to said lever normally straddling said cross bar and coacting therewith to move the container upon limited movement of the lever about its pivot but disengageable therefrom upon outward movement of the lever in excess of said limited movement, means limitingr outward movement of the lever to a degree exceeding said limited movement but less than 90 from normal position, and latch means on said handle and cover plate for releasably retaining the Yhandle in normal position.

l2. The invention defined in claim 11, Wherein said handle in normal position substantially bisects said cover plate and acts as a drawer pull when said limiting means is in operation.

R. GLEN N YE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,269,467 Leonard et al June 11, 1918 1,845,335 Rosendahl Feb. 16, 1932 2,016,519 Schmidt Oct. 8, 1935 2,514,246 Knox July 4, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 604,451 Germany Oct. 20, 1934 

